How to Leverage Social Media Marketing as a Listing Agent

When you consider key realtor skills, your mind may automatically jump to negotiating or navigating the market. But one of the most important assets for top listing agents is being a marketing expert.

In this era, good marketing goes past traditional print and physical media. The classic front-yard “for sale” sign simply won’t cut it. Real estate agents that want their listings to compete should have an online presence, and a social media one, too.

Social media has become one of the foremost advertising platforms. According to Forbes, 77 percent of businesses use these applications to market their services and 76 percent of consumers have made a purchase because of social media promotion. In realty, that purchase could be an agent’s services or even a home, translating into a new client or a commission. 

Here’s everything the best listing agents need to know about leveraging social media marketing to sell homes and connect with consumers and colleagues.   

Why real estate social media marketing is important

Social media is one of the world’s biggest marketplaces, so it’s wise for any business to promote itself on these platforms to expand reach and viewership, generating leads and sales. But there are a few more reasons that real estate businesses should consider leveraging these tools. 

• Social proof: If you’ve ever looked up a business on social media only to have your search come up dry, you may have asked yourself, “Is this company legitimate?” Having a social media presence can give people searching for real estate services the peace of mind that your brokerage exists (known as “social proof”) and that you’re actively using all available resources to promote listings. 

• Networking potential: Social media allows you to connect with colleagues who may be able to support you in a transaction down the line. If it feels right, you could even ask a colleague to promote your content to their audience, helping drive more traffic to your profile from new viewers.  

• Access to business tools and targeted ads: Social media apps often have business tools (sometimes at a cost) for professionals that allow them to track metrics or place ads in front of targeted audiences. You can leverage ad services to get listings in front of the right buyers, and you can use data to track how your content fares with your audience. Once you know what content resonates, make more of it.

How to create an engaging social media presence

There are social media accounts and then there are captivating social media presences. To drive connections, leads, and sales, you want to create the latter. Here are a few tips on doing so. 

Be mindful of aesthetics

Social media platforms are chock full of content, and a lot of it looks great. Plus, users’ attention spans are short. These two facts combined make for a difficult advertising environment, in which you're competing against a lot of aesthetically attractive content to win hard-to-grab views.

Take advantage of easy design apps, like Canva, or in-app creation tools to make professional-looking posts from templates—always adhering to your brand guidelines. If you don’t have formal guidelines, stick to similar colors and fonts as those you use in other advertising materials, like on your website or business cards. And if using video or photo content in your posts, i.e. for listings, always use high-quality images. This social media video or photo could be the first impression of a home a prospective buyer will see, and it could make or break their interest in it.

When using photo-forward social media channels, like Instagram, avoid creating too busy a grid that can visually overwhelm viewers. Break up photos or videos of listings with other types of content, like infographics or images featuring little bits of text. Making a digital marketing calendar can help keep your content creation on schedule and varied, inviting you to plan a range of ideas in advance.

Use video & virtual tours

Video content reigns. According to stats from HubSpot, video is by far the most highly shared content form and 89 percent of social media users report wanting to see more of it from brands. 

What’s more, video marketing is generally a smart tactic for real estate agents, in particular. It allows you to make more engaging listings that feature walkthroughs or drone footage. This type of content helps potential buyers envision a space better than they could with photos alone. 

Post valuable insights for buyers

Instead of filling up your social media profiles just with listings, offer other information that reels in potential clients and builds trust with them. Establish yourself as a knowledge authority on everything real estate by posting tips and useful factoids for home buyers and sellers. You can also use social media to brag a bit about your accomplishments. After all, folks considering your services want to see that you regularly have positive experiences with clients.

Here are a few high-value content ideas to add to your social media strategy:

• Data on market trends 

• Renovation and staging tips for home sellers (and before-and-afters of homes you’ve guided owners on fixing up)

• Information about the real estate process 

• Open house pointers 

• Client testimonials and success stories 

• Neighborhood guides

• Polls 

• Giveaways 

The idea is to keep your follower base engaged, and using a mix of media and content types can invite more interaction than similar, stagnant content would. 

Interact with followers

If you’re a real estate agent, chances are you’re a people person. Highlight this excellent soft skill by professionally interacting with your followers. Respond to direct messages (DMs) quickly and with well-written, informative responses. 

And respond to comments. You can react (with a “like” or heart emoji) or just a few simple words when not much follow-up is required. But if you get a request for information, provide it swiftly, either in private using a DM or publicly; use your discretion on a case-by-case basis. If you do send someone a DM with more information, respond to their original comment letting them know so that they and anyone else viewing this message is aware you’ve responded. You’ll look as on-top-of-things as you are.

Finally, if you get a negative comment, address it gracefully. If the note is unwarranted or hateful, you may want to let it go (or report it, if it’s inappropriate). But if the comment isn’t mean-spirited and highlights something you could have done better in your services, show off your excellent communication skills by thanking the person and taking their feedback in stride. 

Partner with Titus and have another standout point to post

So, your social media accounts look great, provide engaging content, and give you a platform for connecting with clients and peers. You’ve successfully created marketing assets. But there’s one more thing you can do to stand out on social media: post about how you go above and beyond, helping home sellers secure financing for pre-sale renovations. 

Titus only partners with the best listing agents in the real estate industry, giving their clients access to a unique financing product. Home sellers working with a Titus affiliate agent can use a zero-interest closing line of credit (CLoC) to fix up their homes, driving a higher value sale and, in turn, better commissions. Find out how it works here.